Today, the United States and our Armed Forces continue to lead the
global coalition in our mission to destroy the terrorist group ISIL. As
I outlined
in my speech to the nation last weekend, our strategy is
moving forward with a great sense of urgency on four fronts -- hunting
down and taking out these terrorists; training and equipping Iraqi and
Syrian forces to fight ISIL on the ground; stopping ISIL’s operations by
disrupting their recruiting, financing and propaganda; and, finally,
persistent diplomacy to end the Syrian civil war so that everyone can
focus on destroying ISIL.

I just had a chance to
meet with my National Security Council as part of our regular effort to
review and constantly strengthen our efforts. And I want to thank
Secretary Carter, Chairman Dunford, and Vice Chairman Selva for hosting
us and for their leadership of our men and women in uniform. We heard
from General Austin, who is leading the military campaign in the region,
as well as General Votel, whose Special Operations forces are playing a
vital role in this fight.

I want to provide all of
you a brief update on our progress against the ISIL core in Syria and
Iraq, because as we squeeze its heart, we’ll make it harder for ISIL to
pump its terror and propaganda to the rest of the world.

This fall, even before the
revolting attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, I ordered new actions to
intensify our war against ISIL. These actions, including more firepower
and Special Operations forces, are well underway. This continues to be
a difficult fight. As I said before, ISIL is dug in, including in urban
areas, and they hide behind civilians, using defenseless men, women and
children as human shields.

So even as we’re
relentless, we have to be smart, targeting ISIL surgically, with
precision. At the same time, our partners on the ground are rooting
ISIL out, town by town, neighborhood by neighborhood, block by block.
That is what this campaign is doing.

We are hitting ISIL harder
than ever. Coalition aircraft -- our fighters, bombers and drones --
have been increasing the pace of airstrikes -- nearly 9,000 as of today.
Last month, in November, we dropped more bombs on ISIL targets than any
other month since this campaign started.

We’re going after ISIL
from their stronghold right down -- right in downtown Raqqa, to Libya,
where we took out Abu Nabil, the ISIL leader there. The point is, ISIL
leaders cannot hide. And our next message to them is simple: You are
next.

Every day, we destroy as
well more of ISIL’s forces -- their fighting positions, bunkers and
staging areas; their heavy weapons, bomb-making factories, compounds and
training camps. In many places, ISIL has lost its freedom of maneuver,
because they know if they mass their forces, we will wipe them out. In
fact, since the summer, ISIL has not had a single successful major
offensive operation on the ground in either Syria or Iraq. In recent
weeks, we’ve unleashed a new wave of strikes on their lifeline, their
oil infrastructure, destroying hundreds of their tanker trucks, wells
and refineries. And we’re going to keep on hammering those.

ISIL also continues to
lose territory in Iraq. ISIL had already lost across Kirkuk province
and at Tikrit. More recently, ISIL lost at Sinjar, losing a strategic
highway. ISIL lost at Baiji, with its oil refinery. We saw the daring
raid supported by our Special Forces, which rescued dozens of prisoners
from ISIL, and in which Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler made the ultimate
sacrifice.

So far, ISIL has lost
about 40 percent of the populated areas it once controlled in Iraq. And
it will lose more. Iraqi forces are now fighting their way deeper into
Ramadi. They’re working to encircle Fallujah and cut off ISIL supply
routes into Mosul. Again, these are urban areas where ISIL is
entrenched. Our partners on the ground face a very tough fight ahead,
and we’re going to continue to back them up with the support that they
need to ultimately clear ISIL from Iraq.

ISIL also continues to
lose territory in Syria. We continue to step up our air support and
supplies to local forces -- Syrian Kurds, Arabs, Christians, Turkmen --
and they’re having success. After routing ISIL at Kobani and Tal Abyad,
they’ve pushed ISIL back from almost across the entire border region
with Turkey, and we’re working with Turkey to seal the rest. ISIL has
lost thousands of square miles of territory it once controlled in Syria
-- and it will lose more. The Special Forces that I ordered to Syria
have begun supporting local forces as they push south, cut off supply
lines and tighten the squeeze on Raqqa.

Meanwhile, more people are
seeing ISIL for the thugs and the thieves and the killers that they are.
We’ve seen instances of ISIL fighters defecting. Others who’ve tried
to escape have been executed. And ISIL’s reign of brutality and
extortion continues to repel local populations and help fuel the refugee
crisis. “So many people are migrating,” said one Syrian refugee. ISIL,
she said, will “end up all alone.”

All this said, we
recognize that progress needs to keep coming faster. No one knows that
more than the countless Syrians and Iraqis living every day under ISIL’s
terror, as well as the families in San Bernardino and Paris and
elsewhere who are grieving the loss of their loved ones. Just as the
United States is doing more in this fight -- just as our allies France,
Germany, and the United Kingdom, Australia and Italy are doing more --
so must others.

And that’s why I’ve asked
Secretary Carter to go to the Middle East -- he’ll depart right after
this press briefing -- to work with our coalition partners on securing
more military contributions to this fight. On the diplomatic front,
Secretary Kerry will be in Russia tomorrow as we continue to work, as
part of the Vienna process, to end the Syrian civil war. Meanwhile,
here at home, the Department of Homeland Security is updating its alert
system to help the American people stay vigilant and safe.

And as always, our
extraordinary men and women in uniform continue to put their lives on
the line -- in this campaign and around the world -- to keep the rest of
us safe. This holiday season, many of our troops are once again far
from their families. And as your Commander-in-Chief, on behalf of the
American people, we want to say thank you. We are grateful, and we are
proud for everything that you do. Because of you, the America that we
know and love and cherish is leading the world in this fight.